Chapter Three:
Bad Decisions
Norah ran out of Nick's car and through the spinning glass doors. She went up to a lady who worked at the airport. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have a lost-and-found or something? I lost a very important ring about five days ago and I think it may be here," Norah's eyes pleaded.
The woman looked at her. "Hmm...I can check with the janitors. What does it look like?"
"It's a gold band and it has a blue stone in the middle." She swallowed.
"Do you have a number I could call if I find it?" The woman smiled.
Norah scribbled down her telephone number on the back of a piece of paper she found in her purse along with her name. "Thank you so much." She walked out into the warm air and looked out at Nick's car and about five other cars behind him, all beeping at him. She dove into the front seat and Nick pulled away from the curb.
She felt betrayed. She didn't know why she was looking for that stupid ring. Nick had told her about how Greg called her a whore and accused her of selling the ring. Her eyelids folded up into a glare when she thought about it.
"Asshole!" Abby shouted out the window at a passing car, her fist flying.
Norah's face scrunched up in amusement. "Who taught her that?"
"Greg," Nick answered quickly.
Norah's smile faded from the sound of his name. She glued her eyes to the window.
-----
The next few weeks were okay for Norah. Despite being lonely the whole time, she had gotten a job as a sixth grade teacher and the lady at the airport had found her ring. She had a plan for Greg that she promised she'd put into action soon.
She took Lindsey out, too.
She, like Abby, had grown so much since Norah had last seen her. Norah could still see the second grade girl in the backseat of Nick's car with ice cream down the front of her shirt. She looked like gonna-be-sixth- grader now -- brand names and a dab of makeup. She made a 26-year-old Norah feel old.
Nonetheless, she was still sweet, even though Catherine would tell you otherwise about the preteen.
"My mom told me you're teaching in my school," Lindsey said squinting at the sun.
Norah nodded. "Yeah, I was kind of a last minute pick." With three days until school started, it really was a last minute thing. Norah had gotten the books and started a lesson plan that was still yet to be completed.
"That's cool." Lindsey smiled.
"Yeah. I'm kind of scared, though," Norah admitted. She hated being the new person, she prayed for the best.
Lindsey looked at her and searched her face, wondering if it was a jest. She could only remember a strong, reliable Norah from four years ago. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah! What if --" Norah started.
Lindsey cut her off. "Don't think about the what ifs. If you act like you act around me, they'll love you."
Norah smiled.
"Besides," Lindsey continued, "they like the younger teachers compared to the old ones. I think it's because we can relate to them." She nodded briefly to show her she was for real.
Norah laughed a bit, remember her school years and how true that was back then. She pulled into the McDonald's parking lot.
"Isn't this the place we got kicked out of?" Lindsey asked.
Norah nodded. "Yeah, almost." She chuckled. "We bought a Barbie doll so the manager would shut up and let us play in the Ball Crawl." She was impressed that Lindsey remembered.
They got out of the car and walked into the burger joint reminiscing about the days before Norah left for college. Both were filled with the warmth of having found a long lost friend. Lindsey was glad she had a mentor she could talk to; Catherine was always at work and she just couldn't talk to Eddie about guys and clothes.
Norah was just glad to be thinking about something other than past love. She felt so under-achieved in the love department. She'd always wanted to be married and have a kid by age 25, now she didn't even have a steady boyfriend.
Once they were finished catching up and bingeing on french fries they headed for the LVPD crime lab. As they walked in and asked the receptionist to page Catherine, Norah noticed that Lindsey had gotten very much taller. She was only about a half of a foot shorter than she was.
They heard Catherine's heels click in a very specific rhythm until she stopped in front of them. "Hey, girls."
They smiled back at her and greeted her with 'hellos.' She led them to the break room, which was already occupied by a daydreaming Archie. Catherine decided she was going to have a 'girls night' with Lindsey since she'd been working overtime for the past month, but she still had something to finish up in the lab before she took Lindsey.
The girls sat on the opposite side of the table as Archie, who was staring at his coffee, and Catherine went back to what she'd been doing in one of the dark rooms of the lab.
Archie looked up after a minute. "Hello, ladies."
"Hey, Arch," Lindsey smiled.
Norah smiled, too. "Hey." She didn't know him all that well but from what she knew of him, he was sweet.
Lindsey stood up. "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom." She left the room, leaving Norah and Archie in silence.
Archie spoke first. "So, how's the Greg-Norah relationship going?"
Norah shook her head.
"That bad?"
She laughed a bit. "Basically, it's non-existent at the moment."
"Oh." He didn't seem too upset about it. "Want to go to a movie sometime?"
She let out another slight laugh. "Sure," she smiled.
He slid his cell phone across the table for her to program her number in it. He leaned against the table with his elbows hanging off a bit as she picked up his phone and went to the phone book.
She handed it back to him. Right on cue, Greg walked into the break room.
Archie slide his cell in his pocket and raise his eyebrows at Greg and then Norah. The other two didn't move. Greg stood in the doorway, Norah in her chair.
"Excuse me, I have to go sell my body," she said sarcastically to Greg, even though it was directed toward Archie. She got up from her chair and walked toward the door. "Tell Linds I said 'bye.'" She stopped in front of Greg. Her face only a few centimeters from his face. She could hear his heart beat. "As for you, Mr. Pimp," she moved her face closer; their lips just barely touching, "this is for you." She stuck her head in his front right pocket and put something in it. "Hope you're happy without your whorish girlfriend." She turned quickly, her hair slapping him in the face. She left the air in the room stale.
Archie looked away from Greg as he pulled the ring from his pocket. He returned it and walked to the coffeepot.
Archie glanced up again and shrugged a bit before getting up and leaving to bury himself alive with Manila folders and videotapes.
Greg sat where Norah was sitting before. What had he done?
-----
Norah laid on the couch, more or less. She was as drunker than she'd ever been. She knew she shouldn't have taken the wine out of her cabinet. Greg had bought it for the night she moved in, over four years ago, but Lydia and Nick interrupted them.
She groaned at the thought of someone actually being happy. She wished she was, instead she was stuck dateless, hanging off her couch on a Sunday night.
She tipped back the bottle and filled her taste buds with the bitter wine. "Here's to you Greggo."
She scowled at herself for saying his name. She thought about her other options. She could call Archie and beg him to take advantage of her to get her mind off of Greg. Or call Owen, who had been calling nonstop for about a month, even though she'd sure he'd be more willing to do to the things described before than Archie would. Or she could drink more.
She chose number three. She finished the bottle and put the glass on the table. Before long she'd passed out on the couch.
She didn't wake up until she heard banging on her door. She could barely move so instead she rolled off the couch and crawled to the door. She pulled herself up with the doorknob as support. When she opened the door her head started to throb more than before.
She must have looked as drunk as she felt. "Have you been drinking?" Greg asked.
She shrugged.
"I just came --"
Norah cut him off. "Save it for someone who cares." She went to close the door but he held his arm out to keep it open.
"Please hear me out."
Maybe she didn't hate him as much as she vowed she did. She opened the door and stepped out of the way for him to come in. She closed the door and sat on the floor in front of the couch, her head between her knees.
"I didn't mean it when I called you a -- you know. I was just mad and I guess I jumped to conclusions."
Norah searched Greg's face for a second. Then her head started to hurt too much and she replaced it on her knees.
"Forgive me?"
"I guess." She barely got the words out before she had to puke. She rushed to the bathroom, half stumbling, half crawling.
She just made it to the toilet before she blew chunks. Greg kneeled by her and held her hair for her. She had a gnawing pain above her right eyebrow. She groaned and reached for a towel to wipe her mouth off. "I'm so stupid."
"No you're not," Greg told her. He slid a blue hair tie off her wrist and gathered her hair into a low ponytail on her head.
"I shouldn't have drank. I knew this was going to happen. And," she paused to take a deep breath, "I'll probably lose my job." She started to cry. "I was just depressed."
He was now sitting against the wall. He pulled gently her off the bathtub and between his legs. He put his arms around the front of her, one shoulder to the other. "It's fine."
"Greg?"
"And you're not going to lose your job."
"Greg?"
"And you'll feel fine once you sober up."
"Greg?"
"Yes?"
"I have to throw up again."
He let go of her and she kneeled again at the toilet. He rubbed her back.
"Do you want me to stay tonight? Just to make sure you're okay," Greg asked.
She nodded.
"Are you done?"
She nodded.
"Okay," he said softly, picking her up and carrying her to her to her room. He set her down on her bed. "Do you have any aspirin for your headache?"
She nodded, weeping softly from the pain. "In the medicine cabinet."
He walked into the bathroom and got the bottle. He took two out and walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water for Norah. He walked back into the bedroom and handed her both and sat on the edge of the bed.
He crept over her as gently as he could and laid down next to her. He put his hand on her hip and reached up her shirt a bit to her stomach. He rubbed it gently as he kissed her gently on the neck and up her face. When he reached her mouth she pulled away.
"Hold on." The aspirin really did help. Her massive headache had dulled down to a slight buzz. She went across the hall to the bathroom, she shut the door and grabbed her toothbrush from the pink holder and brushed her teeth and her tongue vigorously. She rinsed and walked back into her room.
She laid down again, now facing Greg. He kissed her gently.
The rising sun streamed through the white, opaque curtains. Norah looked at the clock as Greg pulled her closer and softly tugged her shirt off. It was only 7 in the morning; Greg had only been off work for a few hours. He kissed her bare shoulders and rolled on top of her.
Norah ran out of Nick's car and through the spinning glass doors. She went up to a lady who worked at the airport. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have a lost-and-found or something? I lost a very important ring about five days ago and I think it may be here," Norah's eyes pleaded.
The woman looked at her. "Hmm...I can check with the janitors. What does it look like?"
"It's a gold band and it has a blue stone in the middle." She swallowed.
"Do you have a number I could call if I find it?" The woman smiled.
Norah scribbled down her telephone number on the back of a piece of paper she found in her purse along with her name. "Thank you so much." She walked out into the warm air and looked out at Nick's car and about five other cars behind him, all beeping at him. She dove into the front seat and Nick pulled away from the curb.
She felt betrayed. She didn't know why she was looking for that stupid ring. Nick had told her about how Greg called her a whore and accused her of selling the ring. Her eyelids folded up into a glare when she thought about it.
"Asshole!" Abby shouted out the window at a passing car, her fist flying.
Norah's face scrunched up in amusement. "Who taught her that?"
"Greg," Nick answered quickly.
Norah's smile faded from the sound of his name. She glued her eyes to the window.
-----
The next few weeks were okay for Norah. Despite being lonely the whole time, she had gotten a job as a sixth grade teacher and the lady at the airport had found her ring. She had a plan for Greg that she promised she'd put into action soon.
She took Lindsey out, too.
She, like Abby, had grown so much since Norah had last seen her. Norah could still see the second grade girl in the backseat of Nick's car with ice cream down the front of her shirt. She looked like gonna-be-sixth- grader now -- brand names and a dab of makeup. She made a 26-year-old Norah feel old.
Nonetheless, she was still sweet, even though Catherine would tell you otherwise about the preteen.
"My mom told me you're teaching in my school," Lindsey said squinting at the sun.
Norah nodded. "Yeah, I was kind of a last minute pick." With three days until school started, it really was a last minute thing. Norah had gotten the books and started a lesson plan that was still yet to be completed.
"That's cool." Lindsey smiled.
"Yeah. I'm kind of scared, though," Norah admitted. She hated being the new person, she prayed for the best.
Lindsey looked at her and searched her face, wondering if it was a jest. She could only remember a strong, reliable Norah from four years ago. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah! What if --" Norah started.
Lindsey cut her off. "Don't think about the what ifs. If you act like you act around me, they'll love you."
Norah smiled.
"Besides," Lindsey continued, "they like the younger teachers compared to the old ones. I think it's because we can relate to them." She nodded briefly to show her she was for real.
Norah laughed a bit, remember her school years and how true that was back then. She pulled into the McDonald's parking lot.
"Isn't this the place we got kicked out of?" Lindsey asked.
Norah nodded. "Yeah, almost." She chuckled. "We bought a Barbie doll so the manager would shut up and let us play in the Ball Crawl." She was impressed that Lindsey remembered.
They got out of the car and walked into the burger joint reminiscing about the days before Norah left for college. Both were filled with the warmth of having found a long lost friend. Lindsey was glad she had a mentor she could talk to; Catherine was always at work and she just couldn't talk to Eddie about guys and clothes.
Norah was just glad to be thinking about something other than past love. She felt so under-achieved in the love department. She'd always wanted to be married and have a kid by age 25, now she didn't even have a steady boyfriend.
Once they were finished catching up and bingeing on french fries they headed for the LVPD crime lab. As they walked in and asked the receptionist to page Catherine, Norah noticed that Lindsey had gotten very much taller. She was only about a half of a foot shorter than she was.
They heard Catherine's heels click in a very specific rhythm until she stopped in front of them. "Hey, girls."
They smiled back at her and greeted her with 'hellos.' She led them to the break room, which was already occupied by a daydreaming Archie. Catherine decided she was going to have a 'girls night' with Lindsey since she'd been working overtime for the past month, but she still had something to finish up in the lab before she took Lindsey.
The girls sat on the opposite side of the table as Archie, who was staring at his coffee, and Catherine went back to what she'd been doing in one of the dark rooms of the lab.
Archie looked up after a minute. "Hello, ladies."
"Hey, Arch," Lindsey smiled.
Norah smiled, too. "Hey." She didn't know him all that well but from what she knew of him, he was sweet.
Lindsey stood up. "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom." She left the room, leaving Norah and Archie in silence.
Archie spoke first. "So, how's the Greg-Norah relationship going?"
Norah shook her head.
"That bad?"
She laughed a bit. "Basically, it's non-existent at the moment."
"Oh." He didn't seem too upset about it. "Want to go to a movie sometime?"
She let out another slight laugh. "Sure," she smiled.
He slid his cell phone across the table for her to program her number in it. He leaned against the table with his elbows hanging off a bit as she picked up his phone and went to the phone book.
She handed it back to him. Right on cue, Greg walked into the break room.
Archie slide his cell in his pocket and raise his eyebrows at Greg and then Norah. The other two didn't move. Greg stood in the doorway, Norah in her chair.
"Excuse me, I have to go sell my body," she said sarcastically to Greg, even though it was directed toward Archie. She got up from her chair and walked toward the door. "Tell Linds I said 'bye.'" She stopped in front of Greg. Her face only a few centimeters from his face. She could hear his heart beat. "As for you, Mr. Pimp," she moved her face closer; their lips just barely touching, "this is for you." She stuck her head in his front right pocket and put something in it. "Hope you're happy without your whorish girlfriend." She turned quickly, her hair slapping him in the face. She left the air in the room stale.
Archie looked away from Greg as he pulled the ring from his pocket. He returned it and walked to the coffeepot.
Archie glanced up again and shrugged a bit before getting up and leaving to bury himself alive with Manila folders and videotapes.
Greg sat where Norah was sitting before. What had he done?
-----
Norah laid on the couch, more or less. She was as drunker than she'd ever been. She knew she shouldn't have taken the wine out of her cabinet. Greg had bought it for the night she moved in, over four years ago, but Lydia and Nick interrupted them.
She groaned at the thought of someone actually being happy. She wished she was, instead she was stuck dateless, hanging off her couch on a Sunday night.
She tipped back the bottle and filled her taste buds with the bitter wine. "Here's to you Greggo."
She scowled at herself for saying his name. She thought about her other options. She could call Archie and beg him to take advantage of her to get her mind off of Greg. Or call Owen, who had been calling nonstop for about a month, even though she'd sure he'd be more willing to do to the things described before than Archie would. Or she could drink more.
She chose number three. She finished the bottle and put the glass on the table. Before long she'd passed out on the couch.
She didn't wake up until she heard banging on her door. She could barely move so instead she rolled off the couch and crawled to the door. She pulled herself up with the doorknob as support. When she opened the door her head started to throb more than before.
She must have looked as drunk as she felt. "Have you been drinking?" Greg asked.
She shrugged.
"I just came --"
Norah cut him off. "Save it for someone who cares." She went to close the door but he held his arm out to keep it open.
"Please hear me out."
Maybe she didn't hate him as much as she vowed she did. She opened the door and stepped out of the way for him to come in. She closed the door and sat on the floor in front of the couch, her head between her knees.
"I didn't mean it when I called you a -- you know. I was just mad and I guess I jumped to conclusions."
Norah searched Greg's face for a second. Then her head started to hurt too much and she replaced it on her knees.
"Forgive me?"
"I guess." She barely got the words out before she had to puke. She rushed to the bathroom, half stumbling, half crawling.
She just made it to the toilet before she blew chunks. Greg kneeled by her and held her hair for her. She had a gnawing pain above her right eyebrow. She groaned and reached for a towel to wipe her mouth off. "I'm so stupid."
"No you're not," Greg told her. He slid a blue hair tie off her wrist and gathered her hair into a low ponytail on her head.
"I shouldn't have drank. I knew this was going to happen. And," she paused to take a deep breath, "I'll probably lose my job." She started to cry. "I was just depressed."
He was now sitting against the wall. He pulled gently her off the bathtub and between his legs. He put his arms around the front of her, one shoulder to the other. "It's fine."
"Greg?"
"And you're not going to lose your job."
"Greg?"
"And you'll feel fine once you sober up."
"Greg?"
"Yes?"
"I have to throw up again."
He let go of her and she kneeled again at the toilet. He rubbed her back.
"Do you want me to stay tonight? Just to make sure you're okay," Greg asked.
She nodded.
"Are you done?"
She nodded.
"Okay," he said softly, picking her up and carrying her to her to her room. He set her down on her bed. "Do you have any aspirin for your headache?"
She nodded, weeping softly from the pain. "In the medicine cabinet."
He walked into the bathroom and got the bottle. He took two out and walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water for Norah. He walked back into the bedroom and handed her both and sat on the edge of the bed.
He crept over her as gently as he could and laid down next to her. He put his hand on her hip and reached up her shirt a bit to her stomach. He rubbed it gently as he kissed her gently on the neck and up her face. When he reached her mouth she pulled away.
"Hold on." The aspirin really did help. Her massive headache had dulled down to a slight buzz. She went across the hall to the bathroom, she shut the door and grabbed her toothbrush from the pink holder and brushed her teeth and her tongue vigorously. She rinsed and walked back into her room.
She laid down again, now facing Greg. He kissed her gently.
The rising sun streamed through the white, opaque curtains. Norah looked at the clock as Greg pulled her closer and softly tugged her shirt off. It was only 7 in the morning; Greg had only been off work for a few hours. He kissed her bare shoulders and rolled on top of her.